Moving can be stressful, whether you’re moving just across town or moving your family to another state where they know no one. Once you’ve made that big move, it’s important to keep your family happy and active as much as you can until they can make friends and get used to the area.
This can be quite a challenge, especially if you’re moving in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak. In this article, you can find a few tips for keeping your family happy by staying busy while at home, and a few tips for getting out in your new town and finding things to keep you and your family active and happy while maintaining social distancing regulations as well.
Invest in your home comfort and fresh air.
The last thing you want is the new home you’ve moved your family into to be uncomfortable and hated. One of the best ways to prevent this is by having a cooling system that will keep your family comfortable in the heat of the summer months. It’s best to call a reputable HVAC technician to go out to your home and inspect any existing air conditioner before you move in and spend your first night in the new home. You don’t want your family to be hot and cranky in the humidity of a new home with a broken air conditioner at all if you can help it.
It’s also a good idea to set up your home as soon as possible. Everyone will be much happier if they aren’t living out of boxes for weeks after the move. Enlist your family’s help in decorating the place and make sure the kids have all of their treasures front and center in their rooms, from laptops to gaming systems. Having their things around them to keep them busy will be a great help in keeping them content as you get the entire home up and running.
Have a family movie night.
While COVID-19 is running rampant, you’re not going to be able to get out quite as often as you would have before this challenging time. Since you’re in a new place, you’re not going to be out and about looking for things to do. Planning a family movie night at least once a week can help to keep you busy at home until you can get out and meet people. Make sure to let everyone be involved in picking the movie, and don’t forget the popcorn, hot cocoa, and blankets to get all cozy once the movie watching begins. This will keep every family member entertained and happy, and you don’t have to leave the house to do it.
Give your kids some control.
While the move may be something that you can’t help happening, it’s still a hard thing to do to a child. They have to leave all their friends and start over somewhere where it’s possible they won’t know anybody. Make sure to give them some control by letting them help with the move. It’s also a good idea to let your child decorate their own bedroom in the way they want. It’ll keep them happy and hopefully make the new room feel more like home.
Get out and explore the area.
Though this isn’t near as possible as it was before the COVID-19 breakout, you can still get out and explore your new home as much as possible. Take walks around town, go into the places that will let you, (while social distancing, of course), then get to know people the best you can.
These are just a few tips for keeping each family member happy after a big move. While it might not seem like they’ll ever be happy again, soon they will get settled in and forget that your town was ever not their home.
